A Little Bit Stronger
by Reverse of Fate
Summary: Arianna has it all; beautiful looks, money and friends. However, behind her smile is a broken girl suffering from depression. When fate brings an unexpected person into her life, she learns about the true meaning of happiness and the beauty of young love.


**Chapter One**: Lonely Rich Girl.

Alone.

That's exactly how she felt at the moment. It was like someone had ripped her heart out and smashed it into pieces. Her face was stained with mascara, her body was trembling. She was lost. Her life had fallen into pieces and she couldn't understand how. She scrutinized every detail, every second, every moment that had occurred. She thought they were happy. They played each of their roles perfectly. They showed affection towards one another, compromised during fights and always whispered sweet words to one another. They could have fooled anyone.

It was over.

She could do nothing about it. All she wanted was for this horrific nightmare to end and for everything to go back to normal. Then again in her life, nothing was normal; it never was. She lived a life full of lies. Her family had pretended to be picture perfect, which it clearly proved not to be. She simply wanted to disappear. Closing her tearful eyes, she took in heavy steady breaths. Her legs were up against her, as she hid in the corner of her dark room. The fighting had stopped; silence had overtook the mansion. The only voice she could hear was the one in her head. It was telling her that everything would be okay. The voice was lying. It didn't know what it was talking about.

For now, all she wanted to do was sit in her lonely corner and cry.

However, the voice of a certain individual echoed against the other side of her window. Though she desperately wanted to ignore it, the sound of the continuous bumping annoyed her. Therefore, she forced herself up from the floor and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was a complete mess. Her long auburn hair was tangled, her skin was streaked with makeup, and her dark blue eyes were puffy. Once again, she felt the pain spread across her body. Taking in a deep breath, she grabbed a tissue with baby oil and began to clean her skin. Running a brush through her lovely locks, she allowed them to rest against her back. With a light spread of peach lip gloss, she looked good as new.

Opening her shades, a tall blonde figure stood impatiently waiting with a medium mocha latte. The girl instantly entered the room, settling on the comfy couch right next to the window. She realized that with a fake smile and some tamed hair, heartache could easily be hidden. As she opened her lips for a greeting, the blonde rambled.

"You're not going to believe what happened! My dad decided to take my credit card away. How freakin unfair is that? Seriously, all I did was going shopping for the new Betsey Johnson purse...and those cute Dolce Gabbana boots...and the Juicy Couture necklace...I mean it wasn't a lot, right? But no, he freaked out when he saw me come in with the shopping bags. He was telling me that I'm not going to be able to depend on him all my life and that I need to know how the value of a dollar. Oh please. With a dollar, all you can buy is a can of soda or a cheap lip gloss. Seriously, now all I have is a couple hundred... what am I supposed to buy with that? Gosh, sometimes he just doesn't understand that a girl's favorite thing to do is shop. It's not even like he's always at home, ya know? He's always working. I mean if he's making millions of dollars, why can't he share? He's pretty much obligated to since I'm his only daughter. Of course he has sons, but it's not like they go shopping or need things. They have video games and sports.. He doesn't understand..."

Her friend didn't want to listen nor talk. Her mind was fogged with the pain of heartbreak and destruction. If anything, she wanted to let everything out and vent. But she couldn't. That wasn't an option. She was the stable one. The girl who was always smiling, bubbly, and happy. No one could see her emotions, it was locked inside a deep cellar. No one would ever find the key and she meant to keep it that way.

"Helloooo? Ariana! Are you listening?"

Fighting against rolling her eyes, she smiled, "Yes I was. That sucks, Macie.."

"I know right?" she frowned, taking another sip of her mocha latte, "So, let's go to the beach? I want to relax and forget about those problems, I think getting a tan will help a lot."

Arianna was in no mood to go to the beach. In fact, it was the last place she wanted to be. Miami, Florida was full of tourists, teenagers, kids, and families. Society was not in the cards for her today.

"I don't know.." Arianna responded, running a hand through her hair, "I'm not really in the mooo-"

"Pretty please?" Macie sweetly stated with a persuasive smile, "C'mon, it'll be fun. It looks like you need a tan either way!"

"Oh thanks," she muttered in response. She knew there was no way of getting out of it. Macie was an extremely persuasive person and if she had to, she'd drag Arianna to the beach with handcuffs and her legs tied.

Macie stood up from the lilac couch and opened up Arianna's walk-in closet. It was gorgeous; it was pretty much another room. She searched through her bikini drawer, picking out a purple tye-dye bikini. She threw onto Arianna's bed and grabbed her beach bag.

"Put it on," she ordered, "I have mine on already. Let's get to it."

This time, she rolled her eyes. Arianna quickly entered her bathroom and switched into her bikini. A pair of ripped jean shorts, a loose tee, and flip-flops completed her outfit. Grabbing her sunglasses, she shielded her tearful eyes. She felt emotional at every second, due to the simple fact, she was broken inside. However, she tried her hardest to block that feeling and think somewhat positive.

She packed her beach bag with a few essentials and exited her bathroom. An excited smile spread across Macie's lips at the sight of her best friend.

"Let's go.." Arianna said with little excitement.

"Aren't you going to tell your mother?" Macie questioned.

"Don't have to, she's busy..." Arianna muttered, as she made her way out of the room through the window. The best friends exited the room quickly and jumped off her balcony steps. Her room was perfectly designed for escape. Although it was rather high, her father had put a series of steps transcending down her beautiful balcony. It was a great addition to the house and an easier way for Arianna to sneak out.

Rather than driving, the seventeen year old friends walked to the beach, which was located about three blocks away from Arianna's. The day was gorgeous; the sun made its scorching appearance, the sky was bright blue, and there was a perfect breeze. Upon reaching the beach, the girls were met with the commotion of the beach. It was no surpise to either of them, considering August was one of the busiest months.

As they walked down the boardwalk, Arianna aimlessely stared forward. Her mind was fogged with memories and unforgettable words. Her throat thickened and her heart began to race. Like a fast train, her emotions were coming instantly. In addition, the sound of Macie's endless rants were beginning to sound more like Charlie Brown's teacher. Her mind was elsewhere and she no longer saw the beach, but a fog of darkness. Macie went her separate way, due to her realization of an outdoor cafe. Suddenly, Arianna's body hit another, knocking her onto the flat on the floor. Her mind came back to reality and she felt annoyance rush through her body.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching a hand out toward her, "I'm so sorry..."

Rather than take his hand, she stood up on her own. She glanced slightly at the guy standing in front of her. He was taller than her, that was a fact.

"It's fine.." she answered, "Not a big deal."

He slightly smiled, his blue eyes tried to capture hers. However, she had the tendency to look down, rather than directly at him, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Nope." She directly answered, "Excuse me.."

As she walked away from him, he couldn't help but stare. There was something that had captured him in.

"Wait!" He caught up to her, and immediately stood in her way, "Can I at least treat you to an ice cream or something?"

She rose an eyebrow, "No?"

"C'mon, its the least I could do for bumping you to the ground."

She tilted her glasses down and slightly looked up. He had beautiful blue eyes, a rippled body and killer tan. A smile spread across his lips as he looked down at her. He realized he captured her in with his attractive looks. Now, he was sure she would accept his offer. She let out a sigh and continued to walk on her own.

"Bye."

He watched her leave without any interest. He didn't swoon her at all and that was something he least expected. Every girl swooned at him; it was a given fact. Yet, she didn't? There was mystery about her and he somewhat enjoyed that.

He continued to look down the boardwalk, her appearance had faded completely.

"Randy, are you coming?" the voice of his best friend entered his thoughts, "We'll start the game without you!"

He turned around and slapped his friend on the back, "No need for that, I'm ready to kick ass!"

The eighteen year old jogged toward the beach where a soccer game was about to take place. He took his position, checking out the weak competition. From a distance, he saw Arianna sit on a beach chair with another blonde and a guy He smirked slightly, as he stared at her then back to the game.

Arianna settled into her beach chair, allowing the sun to hit her body completely. Macie was no longer chattering away due to the fact she had met a guy at the outdoor cafe. Slightly thankful, Arianna placed on her earphones and shut her eyes. She felt at peace as she tried to relax. In her mind, all she heard was the faint music of country music and the cheerful voices of others. Yet, they were fogging away and so was the sadness.

Sleeping was her only escape and the best medicine she could find to cure her loneliness

It was better than nothing.

-  
Tell me what you think.  
xoxo, Michelle!


End file.
